Campus Has Year to Prove Itself
The starting gates of the biggest race ever for Granada Hills High School are not on the school's grassy athletic field. Instead, the sprint will be held inside the campus' one-story classrooms, in the principal's office and even in the cafeteria.
The Los Angeles Board of Education voted last week to grant Granada Hills High charter school status, which educators say represents the largest charter conversion of an existing public school in the country.
The 3,800-student school had sought such status for five years, but a skittish central administration, lacking a cohesive policy on charters and fearful of losing more high-achieving schools such as Granada Hills, decided to give the school only one year to prove itself.
And so the school's teachers, parents and administrators will begin July 1 implementing their own curriculum and policies, and learning to live without the administrative support of the Los Angeles Unified School District, which provided them everything from pencils to peanuts.
Whether or not they meet their goals, experts say, will have an effect on education nationwide.
"This isn't just about Granada Hills High School's success," Los Angeles school board President Caprice Young said.
"It's about the charter movement succeeding. Granada Hills will have to meet higher expectations than other public schools."
Fueling the charter drive at Granada Hills High was the belief that the district represented a sprawling and inflexible institution geared toward under-performing schools.
Academic stalwarts such as Granada Hills, which has the highest standardized test scores among the district's full-sized high schools, did not have the freedom to tailor more advanced programs to its students, charter advocates said.
By becoming a charter campus, Granada Hills High will receive funding directly from Sacramento and free itself from much of the district's and state's rules.
It must still adhere to the state's academic standards.
But after last week's school board decision, some at Granada Hills said they were unsure if a one-year agreement signaled victory or defeat. Regardless, teachers and administrators agreed they must do their best with the situation they've been handed.
"We have to quickly prioritize the most significant improvements right away," said Elisa Rogus, an English teacher who has been at the school for 16 years. "However, that increases the risk of being disorganized."
